This is the time of year in the NBA when players need to be shooting their best. Slightly below .500 or way above it should be expected of every player. Cold shooting isn’t going to win games this time of year.

Every player has to be at his best. There’s no room for error.

This is why Chandler Parsons had a disappointing effort Saturday for the Houston Rockets. He’s had a strong season for his second year, considering he’s averaging 15.4 points. They lost 107-105 to the Phoenix Suns. Yes, playing on the road isn’t easy against anybody. But Phoenix is one of the NBA’s worst teams and this was a game the Rockets could have used to bolster their playoff chances. So what does Parsons do? He shoots 5-of-16 and scores only 14 points.

That might seem harsh criticism because Parsons did shoot a combined 17 of 28 in his previous two games for 49 combined points and was 11-of-16 in threes.

He was also playing his third game in four days.

But Houston coach Kevin McHale then needs to give Parsons more rest since he had played 85 minutes in the previous two games and was ineffective in 35 minutes against Phoenix.

The Rockets can’t be losing to poor teams right now, home or away. They need to win those games to have a good surge going into the playoffs. Parsons needs to keep shooting at the 48.5 percent he’s had all season.

He can have an off night considering that no one, even in the NBA is going to excel every night. Parsons just needs to make sure he doesn’t have anymore 5-of-16 efforts against one of the NBA’s poorest teams.